Pokemon: The Very Best
by Ace Trainer DanieL
Summary: Delia's gone. His house is gone. He's all alone. Well, not really alone, Blue is there! But he wishes he was alone. And where is Green? And who is Team Rocket? And why does he, Red Ketchum, feel so lost?
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

"But mom I don't want to move towns," a nine-year-old Red whined to his mother who was furiously packing her bags. "I want to stay here in Pallet Town," he grouched.

His mother was having none of it. She looked up from her suitcase, already full to the brim, and she shooed him off. "Stop bothering me Red, go and pack your suitcase," she said, dismissing him.

Delia knew that despite her child wanting to stay in Pallet, they had to get out of town. A close friend of hers had called her recently, warning her that there were people looking for her, looking for her and Red. Delia was perplexed initially, _how could they have caught up with her?_ She had managed to only tell two people where she was going to go when she went into hiding and those people were Professor Oak – her friend and Dr. Fennel who had since passed away two years ago. _So how? Could Oak have told? But that can't be it...he was the one who told ME about them..._

* * *

Red sat on his bed, his suitcase packed. He checked his watch then checked it again waiting for when his mother would come upstairs and tell him she was ready to go. He'd been ready for an hour already but she was taking too long. He sighed but it was short-lived as there was soon a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," he yelled as he bolted down the stairs eager for some excitement. His mother rounded the corner before he could reach the door and yelled at him to get back. _Why?_ He thought. _There's someone at the door._ He saw his mother make her way slowly to the door, placing her hand on the knob and slowly turning it. She looked at the person in front of her and sighed, it was only Blue.

Blue blinked. "Um…is everything all right Mrs. Ketchum," he asked as he brushed aside Red's mother and made his way towards Red.

Delia looked at him. "Hmm? Oh, yes everything is fine Blue, we were just getting ready to leave," she said motioning for Red to get ready. Red shrugged and pointed at his already dressed-self and his packed suitcase. Delia huffed as she got his point. "I'll only be ten minutes more," she said before she bustled off.

"Why're you here," Red asked Blue as soon as his mother had left.

"Why wouldn't I be," Blue replied. "Oh and Green is coming soon too," he stated as an afterthought.

Red sighed as he collapsed on the couch opposite of Blue. Blue looked at him for a moment before settling down on the floor near the couch.

"So-," Blue started before the ring of the doorbell interrupted him. "Oh that must be Green," he said getting up and making his way to the door.

"Peep the eyehole," Red called after him. "We don't want her coming in wearing pink!"

Blue groaned at the stupid joke but nonetheless checked the eyehole. He blanched. This wasn't Green. No, this was something else. Something not good. The doorbell rang again casting an echo around the house.

Red got up on his elbows. "Well? Aren't you going to open it," he asked his friend who had noticeably gone white in the face.

Blue shook his head and was about to make his way towards Red when a loud sound rang through the Ketchum household as the main door came crashing down.

* * *

Delia was confused. She had so many things she wanted to pack yet so little space inside her suitcase. _Hmm,_ she thought. _Maybe I should go ask Red if he has some extra space in his._ She made her way to Red's room but she didn't get far as before she could make it, the ground beneath her shook like an earthquake and Delia soon found herself on the floor wondering what that was. _It couldn't be,_ she thought as her eyed widened. _The kids! Red!_ She thought frantically before equipping herself with her blade.

It was a duel blade combo and it hadn't been cheap. That was how it was nowadays. Everyone needed a weapon to protect themselves and the better the weapon, the more expensive it was. Delia had to fork over half her money just to get her hands on the little sucker.

She made her way down slowly, calling Red and Blue's names. The living room downstairs could barely be seen with all the smoke fogging it up. She grew worried, as she could neither see Blue nor Red. Blade in hand, she made her way into the fog …

* * *

"Red," Blue whispered to the boy who looked like he was thinking long and hard. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing Blue? Playing with diamonds and pearls? I'm thinking," he said.

"This isn't the time to be thinking," Blue shouted. "We need to get out of here! The house is under attack!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Red said arrogantly. "Whoever it is, is no match for me anyways," he said walking backwards with his hands in the air.

"Uh … Red?"

"Yes?"

"Don't turn ar-," he tried to say before Red turned around. Red came face-to-face with a humongous arachnid-like creature. It had eight long spindly legs and two very large teeth with a spiky horn protruding from its forhead. Red did what any other normal person would do in this scenario. He screamed. And then he screamed a little more. And then he screamed again.

Blue face-palmed. "I said don't turn around," he said indignantly.

"And miss this beautiful creature who looks like it wants to eat me? How could I resist," Red answered with sarcasm.

"What are we gonna do about it," Blue asked.

"It hasn't moved in the last few minutes. It's just staring. Ew."

"Um… I'm going to go get your mom," Blue said as he began walking in the other direction. He soon returned back to Red. "If I could see I would totally go but I can't."

Red looked at him and blinked. "You're scared," he said matter-of-factly. It was as if the situation at hand had finally hit Red. His house was under attack. There was a huge arachnid beast above their heads and his mother was nowhere to be found. Red took it like a man. He sat down on the busted couch, put his head in his hands and began to cry.

Blue looked at Red uncomfortably. He wasn't good at cheering people up and this was a serious situation, they still didn't know what had happened. Red seemed to come back by himself however as he looked up at Blue, wiped his eyes, got up and said, "come on, we're going to find my mom."

Red led the way through the thick smog as Blue followed behind. "Mom," he called but there was never a reply.

"Mrs. Ketchum," Blue called as well only to be met with silence. "You don't think-," Blue began but Red clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up."

"I'm just saying that-," but Red interrupted him.

"Well don't," he said as he walked off leaving Blue to catch up.

* * *

 _Where could those boys be,_ Delia asked herself for the hundredth time. She had skipped the living room in exchange for the basement from where she had heard a strange noise. She made her way carefully down the invisible steps as she held on to the banister. "Red," she called. "Blue!"

Delia heard a sound behind her. She quickly turned around, blade in one hand but she was too slow. She felt something hit against her head. She passed out on the floor; the baseball bat used to attack her was dropped beside her. _Red_ , she thought.

* * *

"You idiot," a man said to the other who had been previously holding the baseball bat used to attack Red's mother.

"I got sidetracked," the man responded. "She turned around so quickly and did you see that blade in her hand? She would've killed me!"

"We weren't supposed to get her though you dumbass. The child was top priority and you went off and knocked out his mother," the first one said. "She could've given us some useful information. Now she's probably dead."

"Yeah, yeah, save it. We still need to grab that kid, if he's not in here then burn the house. We don't want him coming back."

"Pfft. He's still here. No little baby runs off without its mother."

"He has a friend with him, if you see him then exterminate him. We don't want others getting involved. Remember, top priority is the kid."

"I just told you that!"

"Get to work grunt."

Both grunts looked hard and long for any sign of Red and his friend, Blue but to no avail. They met back together thirty minutes after having searched the house fully.

"Well," said the first grunt. "I got nothing."

"Neither did I," said the second. "The little brat's gone."

"We still burning the house down?"

"You bet we are."

And so it went, both grunts got outside the house and spilled kerosene around it. Lighting a match, the first grunt threw it into the liquid and the house was instantly enveloped in flames.

"Well, I wish I could say a job well done but we got nothing done," the first grunt said.

"Never getting that promotion," snickered the second as they walked off leaving the Ketchum household in flames.

* * *

"Something's burning," Red said from outside his backyard balcony.

"Well duh," Blue replied. "There's smoke everywhere and I'm not talking about the smoke from before."

Both Red and Blue had taken refuge in the balcony that was located in Red's room after hearing both grunts. The balcony was only accessible through a trap door that Delia had had installed by Professor Oak when they had heard news of another baby. She hadn't wanted the poor thing to go outside by accident. Unfortunately, Delia had lost the baby before it was born but the trap door had remained.

"Come on," Red said as he got back inside his room. "Woah." The entire house was in flames. Fire leaping at all edges. Quite intimidating for a nine-year-old.

"Um…Red? I hate to break your fascination but we need to find your mother and get out of here or we'll be burned alive," Blue said in a calm tone.

That seemed to shake Red out of it. "Come on," he said as he ran downstairs calling for his mom. "Mom," he yelled.

"Um Red," Blue called from the top stair of the basement. "I found your mom."

Red dashed over to where Blue was only to be met with his mother on the ground, unconscious. "Mom," he asked, his voice cracking. He looked back at Blue. "Come on," he started. "We have to help her out of here, the house is this close to being burnt down."

Blue grabbed the hands of Red's mother as Red grabbed her feet as they tried to lift her past the stairs. "Red, come on we gotta go," Blue said. "We can't get her past these stairs and if we don't leave now we'll all be dead!"

"Are you crazy," Red said. "My mother is in this house, I'm not leaving!"

"Red we … we'll have to leave her here…"

"Fine, go by yourself. I'd rather be dead than leave my own mom here to burn," Red said as he sat adamantly on the ground beside his mother.

Blue let him sit there for a good thirty seconds before grabbing on his arm and forcefully pulling him up the stairs. Red didn't say anything. He didn't do anything. But he still felt the drops of tears run down his face. Blue dragged him outside the house and then turned around at the sight. It was just their luck that Red's house was practically on the outskirts of town and no house was in nearby distance to run to for help. Red looked up at the house he'd grown up in for the past nine years. He saw himself reading books to himself in his room. Singing loudly with his mother. Inviting Blue over for sleepovers. Baking cookies for the bake sale. Then he saw what was in front of him. The smoldering house, burning. His mother passed out on the basement floor. The flames growing wilder. And then, Red fainted.

* * *

Well, there it is. I really didn't want to kill off Delia, I really didn't but I needed a huge loss in the beginning to justify behaviour that would happen in the future. In hindsight, I could've killed off Oak, but he's kind of important lmao. Poor Delia tho. Oh well. Review!


	2. A Series Of Events

**6 YEARS LATER**

 _The world had changed, the weapons had changed, Blue had changed, but Red had not. Still as childish as ever, even at the age of fifteen, the boy was plotting his next act against Blue. He'd gotten him good last time, Blue hadn't suspected being drenched in super glue when he walked through the front door and Red had had a good laugh at him being stuck to his clothes but it was time to think bigger._

 _They still lived in Pallet Town, except Red had moved in with Blue's family – which only consisted of Blue, his sister, Daisy and Professor Oak, who had moved back to Pallet Town after the events that had transpired six years ago. The area around Red's house had been closed off and Officer Jenny would occasionally drop by their house to ask Red some more questions. They still hadn't found the duo that was behind the case but detectives believed there to be a bigger partner in play. A mastermind to be exact. Someone who was pulling the strings…but who? That was the question that no one had the answer to and after six years it seemed like everyone in Pallet Town had forgotten about it. Except Red – and to a lesser extent, Blue._

 _Ever since that day, Red only had one dream on the nights that he dreamed. Most of the time a black hole would form in his mind during sleep but on the occasion that a dream was occurring it would always be the same. Same old house. Same old fire. Same old mistakes. And Red would find himself gasping for air as he shot up from his bed, the word mom echoing from his lips in the middle of the night._

"Red," he heard a voice behind him as he was startled out of his reverie. "What are you doing?" It was Daisy, Blue's sister.

"Nothing in particular," he replied. "Trying to think of a way to prank Blue," he grinned devilishly.

Blue took that moment to come bounding down the stairs. "Um…weren't we going to go to the ranch today," he asked Red as he slipped on his jacket.

"Ew," Red groaned. "I don't want to go to the ranch. The last time I went there I saw a Tauros and a Miltank and-," he said, his face going visibly green.

 _Yes, in the past few years the existence of Pokemon had been determined. Or that was what they were calling them now at least. For a long time the only living things on the planet –beside plants- were humans and these species of Pokemon were now being discovered roaming the prairies or swimming in rivers. Miltank and Tauros in question were two different breeds of Pokemon that resembled the typical cow or bull._

"I want to go to the mall or an amusement park or something else _please_ ," he whined. "Not the God forbidden ranch!"

Blue huffed. "Fine, let's go to the mall," he said reluctantly.

"I'll come along too," Daisy said as she put on her jacket. "It's been a while since I went out."

"If you insist," Blue replied, half way out the door.

 _The walk to the mall was quick; the fall wind chill had gotten colder so they hurried faster than normal. Red had seen some Pidgeotto's on the way looking as if they were going to migrate soon because of the increasing colder temperatures. No longer had he gazed at them that he realized they were already there, Pallet Town Mall. "Not very creative but it offered a large amount of variety at least,"_ Red thought.

 _The trio bustled into the mall looking for various items that they may need over the course of the next week. They were planning to take a trip to Johto around then with Professor Oak and needed to stock up on appliances. Daisy soon left the boys to check out some much needed jewelry and soon Red and Blue were left to themselves._

"Ugh, I hate the mall," Blue began as he sat down on of the nearby benches.

"Do you," the other boy asked as he stuffed his face full with chocolates that he had bought at nearby candy store. "Why? It's. So. Much. Fun," Red said, chewing on the chocolates between each word.

Blue did not look amused. He did however reach his hand to grab one of the chocolates from Red's bag and stuffed it into his mouth.

 _"ATTENTION ALL SHOPPERS, YOU ARE ADVISED TO LEAVE PALLET TOWN MALL IMMEDIATELY,"_ the loudspeakers in the mall blared.

"Huh," Blue said. "That's not the same woman who always does the loudspeaker announcements." _'Something's weird,'_ he thought as Red and him got up and began to walk towards the exits that were crowded with people running out of the store.

"Where's Daisy," Red asked frantic. "We need to get Daisy."

"I know, I know, I just-," Blue said but he was cut off.

 _"ATTENTION ALL SHOPPERS. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL BOMBS LOCATED IN THIS MALL THAT ARE SET TO GO OFF IN EXACTLY FIVE MINUTES. WE ADVISE YOU TO LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. THE POLICE ARE ON THE WAY!"_

Blue's eyes widened as he looked around for his sister. " _Where could she be,"_ he thought. Him and Red were one of the last few people left in the building, everyone else had since evacuated.

"Blue," Red called to him near the exit. "We have to go, Daisy, she's probably already outside and we're running out of time."

Blue nodded solemnly hoping he was right as he followed Red outside of the mall. "Wait," he said as he turned around. "I thought I saw someth-DAISY," he yelled, eyes widening as he saw his older sister running towards the exit. "Daisy," he called again. "Hurry," he said again, his arm extended for her.

 _FIVE!_

 _Just a little closer,_ Blue thought.

 _FOUR!_

 _Come on Daisy!_

 _THREE!_

"Blue," Daisy said as she reached him and Red. "I need to tell you something."

 _TWO!_

"After," Blue said as they began running from the mall.

 _ONE!_

The adrenaline in Blue's lungs pushed him to run so fast to the point that he felt like he was leaping through clouds. He looked back at the shopping mall just as it exploded, lifting his feet in the air as he was blown back from the pressure. As he flew through the air he could only catch a few glimpses of what was going on around him. He saw Red beside him lose his balance as he stumbled and hit the ground. He saw Daisy look back at him as she too crashed into the ground. And soon he felt his feet give way as he, himself fell down.

Blue struggled to catch his breath as he gasped for air. He looked back at the mall, which was now left in rubble. "Is," Blue panted. "Everyone okay?" He got pants and heavy breathing in response and sighed, _everything was going to be okay_ , he thought as he looked at his sister and friend.

Daisy got up first. "Listen," she began as she made her way towards Red and Blue. "When I was in the mall I saw something weird. There were a closed off area and beyond it a bunch of men were walking around with big bags," she continued. "But this is the weird part, in one of the bags I saw something moving as if there was something alive in it. It was like it was struggling to get out of the bag, I don't know what it was. I had to run because one of them saw me and began chasing after me," she finished.

"What did they look like," Red asked her. "The men, I mean. What did they look like?"

"They were wearing all black outfits," she said thinking. "Black tops, black pants, white boots though. And there was something on the middle of their shirts near their chests," she said scratching her head as she tried to remember what it was. "Oh, I remember! It was a red-," but she was cut off at the sound of a gunshot.

Blue's eyes widened as he saw the bullet go through the back of his sister's head. " _DAISY,"_ he screamed as she fell to the ground face first. "Daisy," he said again as he got to his sister's aid and tried to speak to her.

Red stood frozen in place at the sight of what had unfolded in front of him. He saw movement near the mall and drifted his eyes towards what had caught his attention. It was brief what he saw but he'd never forget it. A man. Holding a gun aimed towards them. A smirk on his face. Equipped in an all black uniform. A red ' _R'_ stitched on the middle of his top.

Red's eyes widened at the sight. He blinked. But when he looked again, the man was gone. He was about to make his way towards where the man had been when Blue spoke up, voice shaking.

"Red," he began. "Daisy, she's not breathing."

* * *

AN: I am actually really sorry for the long long long wait between the previous chapter and this one. I don't even really have an excuse smh. But the next one should be up -much- quicker. So far someone's been killed in each chapter, hmm, should I continue the trend? . Review!


	3. Answers

"What do you mean she's not breathing," Red asked shocked.

"What do you think I mean Red," Blue shouted back. "She's dead! Don't you understand? Daisy, Daisy's dead," he said quietly, tears flowing down his cheek.

Red stood there silently, tears threatening to spill for him as well but he held them in. He looked at Blue who was obviously in distress at the sight of his sister. He let him mourn over the death of his elder sister for a while longer before he eventually went to stand next to Blue. "Hey," he said. "Don't you think we should take her back home? Give her a proper burial in the backyard? We need to tell Professor Oak and," he faltered as the shock of what happened finally caught up with him. He put his hands in his head as let out a strangled cry, falling to his knees in front of Daisy's body. He stayed there for a long time by Daisy and Blue until Officer Jenny showed up at the scene and brought the two of them in for some questioning.

"Now I know that both of you boys have gone through some traumatic events right now but if we want to solve the case between the bombing of the mall and your friend's death we need to ask a few questions. Remember that everything you say will be taken seriously and will help us carry out our mission," Officer Jenny said as she sat the two boys down. "I'll be speaking to you first Red," she said as she signaled for him to follow her into the room.

"Take a seat Red," she said as she eased herself into her own chair. "Now," she began. "I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I'll need you to answer them as honestly as you can and to the best of your ability. Can you do that for me Red?"

Red nodded.

"Okay," she said. "First question, what were you doing in Pallet Town Mall prior to the bombing incident?"

"We-we were there to have some fun," Red said stuttering as his mind replayed the events of the day. "It was our day off and I had suggested that we go to the mall instead of the ranch. If only I hadn't said anything," he said bitterly.

Officer Jenny quickly began writing down what Red was saying. "Second question," she said. "Upon hearing of the bombs being discovered in the mall, did you notice any suspicious activity?"

Red shook his head. "Blue and I, we didn't notice anything. It was only Daisy who saw anything suspicious."

Officer Jenny perked up at this new information. "What did she see," she pressed on.

"She said that she saw men in all black uniforms carrying large bags," he said.

"Was there anything else," she asked.

"She said that she saw something moving in the bags as if they were carrying something that was alive," he finished.

Officer Jenny's eyes widened. "It couldn't be-," she said alarmed. "Tell me Red, was there anything distinct about these people's outfits," she asked. "A symbol of some sort that might mark them as belonging to some group or team?"

Red caught onto the hint. "A red ' _R'_ was stitched onto the middle of their shirts," he said.

"That's what I thought," she said as she reached for the phone, paging another officer. "Come to my office quickly, bring two other squad members with you," she said as she hung up.

"Red," she began as she relaxed in her chair. "Over the course of a few years our team has been seeing smaller but similar occurrences to the one you have just described. We have reason to believe that there is an organization behind the cause of this. They call themselves, Team _**R**_ _ocket," she_ said as she slid over a photo of what looked to be an image of a man in a black uniform running away from the camera. "Is this similar to what she described," she asked with an eyebrow raised.

Red nodded. "Exactly like it," he breathed.

"I just have one more question for you Red," Officer Jenny said. "Did Daisy have any noticeable enemies or people that might want her dead or hurt?"

Red shook his head. "Not that I know of. Daisy was really nice," he said. "No way anyone could hate her."

"No one," Officer Jenny asked skeptically. "Not a former friend, boyfriend or any thing of that sort?"

"I don't think so," Red said trying to think. "Wait," he said as something that had happened around three years ago occurred to him. "There was a time, three years ago. Daisy came home looking scared. She said someone was following her. We asked her who it was and she said it was someone from work, someone that was obsessed with her."

"I think I remember this incident," Officer Jenny said. "We took him into custody after we got the phone call. His name seems to have slipped my mind but he was released around six months ago."

Red exhaled loudly. "You don't think that he could be the one that did it, do you," he asked her.

"It's a possibility," she said. "We'll take any suspects we can get. However, it seems fishy that both Team Rocket and her acquaintance were there at the same time…unless," she said.

"He's a part of Team Rocket too," Red finished just as three officers came into Officer Jenny's room.

Officer Jenny stood up, addressing the group. "We have a suspect for the Pallet Town Mall incident. We have reason to believe that Team Rocket is behind this and one of the members of the group are responsible for the murder of Daisy Oak. Go on patrol, find out everything you can and then report back here," she told them.

They nodded and left the room.

Officer Jenny sighed. "Well, that's it for your little session with me. Let's call Blue in now shall we," she said as she made her way to the door. "Blue, it's your turn," she called out only to be met with silence. "Huh," she said as she checked around but Blue was nowhere in sight. She quickly pulled out her phone. "This is Officer Jenny, there is a missing witness that was here ten minutes ago. Tall, brown hair, green jacket, and black top. Find him."

Red chose that moment to walk out. Seeing the commotion he blinked. "What's going on," he asked.

"Your friend is missing," she said. "We don't know if he was kidnapped or if he left by himself though it's most probably the latter," she cursed. "Stay here," she told Red as she ran outside.

Red waited thirty seconds after she left and then ran around the backside of the police station and through the back door exit. He had been there enough times to know almost everything about it. _Blue,_ he thought. _That idiot, where could he be?_ Red ran to their house first. "Blue," he called as he walked in. "Are you here?"

"Oh Red," he heard a familiar voice say. "I was wondering when you three would be back."

 _Professor Oak._

Red cursed this time. He didn't know about Daisy, or Blue for that matter. "Sorry old man, gotta go," he yelled as he ran outside and went to the second most obvious place where Blue would be. Red ran straight to Pallet Town Mall – or what was left of it. He didn't see anybody in the vicinity as he drew near but that didn't stop him from searching further. _Where could he be,_ Red thought as he stepped on a boulder trying to look for him at a new height. He was uneasy, throughout the time that he had gotten close to the mall he had felt as if someone was watching him. He turned around quickly when he heard something that sounded like the scamper of footsteps but was met with nothingness. He scanned the area, looking for something, anything that would help him find his friend. He had looked past the mall a couple of times when he saw it. The shadows of a person cast by the streetlight illuminated near the rubble.

Red made his way towards the shadow he saw. As he neared it he saw the shadow began to move away from him. Red gritted his teeth as he ran to catch up with it. "Blue," he called. "Is that you? It's me, Red," he said as followed the shadow. "Blue this isn't funny," he said growing tired of this chase. He turned the corner and to his surprise he saw him, Blue to be exact. "Blue! What the hell man? Why were you running," he asked accusingly.

"I was looking," he said.

"Looking? Looking for what?"

"Clues. Hints. Anything," he said. "I can't rest knowing that the person who _murdered_ Daisy is still alive. I need to know what Team Rocket was planning and when I do," he said as his eyes flared. "I'm going to crush them."

Red was taken aback. Blue had never been so fired up about something before, it was a shock compared to his normal cool composure. Before he could say anything in return he heard a rumbling sound that made him stop and look around. _Crap,_ he cursed as he noticed they were a bit underground, deep in the ruins of the mall. "Blue," he called. "We need to get out of here," he said just as the ruins came crumbling down.

* * *

 **AN:** Well did I say the next chapter would come quick didn't I? -shot- I had the whole day off today so I thought why not? Might as well. Oh that reminds me, I have to bring Green in at some point...maybe in the next chapter hmm? . Review!


End file.
